£50 Benefit for ALL bills including Rent

Sleepy_2

Hello,

My Mum is 60, she lives alone and has no Money and has no Savings.

She has been told that she is entitled to just £50 / week in Benefits to help towards the rent on her flat, council tax, food, Gas, Electricity, Water, all other Bills and living Costs!

The reason why the Benefits department have said this is that when she sold her house in 2006 she lent me £42,000 to restore my house on the condition it would be paid back in full by the time she turned 60 (August last year).

I have paid back £5,000 bringing the amount to £37,000 but the house has fallen dramatically in value and I think that I will only be able to return a small percentage when it sells (I will pay what I can after that each month).

I dont fully understand how the Benefits department are coming to the £50 / month. They advised that they are counting "potential interest" on the £37,000 at 5% as received income - approx £150 per month.

Can anyone please help my Mum with any advice, I'm trying to sell my house as quickly as I can to help at a price that I will be in debt at the end of.

tattoed_bum

is it £50 per month or £50 per week she is recieving

DaisyFlower

As harsh as it seems, there have to be rules when claiming benefits. £42,000 would have kept your mum for a good few years rather than the state having to do so.

Can you not pay her weekly so that she has enough to survive on seeing as though she helped you with your home improvements. Or maybe she can move in with you and then would have minimal living expenses.

How did you plan to pay back the money originally? House prices have dropped and have been for a while so it was a huge gamble to plough so much money into a house and still expect a profit.

Sleepy_2

I think I have the figures correct...

She has been told that she a person needs £124.05 / week to live on....

My Mum receives
Pension - £2
Pension Credit - £48.05
Total - £50.05

The Benefit office advised that they count potential interest from the money lent to me as "50p in the £100" which should equate to £74 each week.

So that is...
£74 that she doesnt get (I cant give her until I sell the house)
£2 Pension
£48.05 Pension Credit
£124.05 / week Total

viktory

Did your Mum not consider that she would need money to live on before lending you such an enormous amount of money?

Sorry, but the DWP clearly believe that she has deliberately deprived herself of capital (which she actually has).

Is there a reason your Mum cannot work? She is only 60 after all.

Sleepy_2

DaisyFlower - You are correct in that the money £37,000 would have kept here for a few more years and I'm sorry that this whole mess has happened. I'm now on a Debt Management Plan with the CCCS and not able to help my Mum with much.

Viktor - Again I take responsibility for talking my Mum into this mess. I think that you're right in that the DWP seem that she has deliberately deprived herself. She is unable to work due to Mental Health problems.

Sleepy_2

My Mum will actually receive £58 / week in a few months when my Dad (seperated) reaches 65.

The Pension Credit will then disappear (and her pension?) so she will go up to a total of £132 each week, but only receiving £58 each week.

zzzLazyDaisy

The thing is, she DOES have money that she could use to live on, but she has given it to you. As someone else has said, the state has rules about this, and will not support someone who clearly has enough money to support themselves, but has chosen to use it for some other purpose (this is deprivation of capital and not allowed).

Could you get a loan to repay some of the money you owe her, to help her out until you are able to pay her back?

Or could you take a lodger, or get a part-time job, so you can keep up regular repayments on what you owe her, to make up the short-fall in her income?

lynzpower

Viktor - Again I take responsibility for talking my Mum into this mess. I think that you're right in that the DWP seem that she has deliberately deprived herself. She is unable to work due to Mental Health problems.

then should she not be recieving incapacity benefit, dla or jobseekers allowance? IM guessing the incap wont be payable due to the issues listed above by Viktory.Can she get JSA on a contributions basis ?

Is she recieving good quality supprt for her illness, with a view to her going back to work?

lynzpower

Could you get a loan to repay some of the money you owe her, to help her out until you are able to pay her back?

if OP is on a DMP then a loan is out of the question.

I like the lodger idea though.

Sleepy_2

My Mum made a Huge mistake.
I made a Huge mistake.

My Mum has no Money.
I have no Money.

My Mum can get no more Money.
I can not give her any Money.

My Mum is talking of Suicide to end it all.